Aberdeen 0 - 1 Hearts

By Clive Lindsay

Kevin Kyle took advantage of groggy Aberdeen goalkeeper Mark Howard to give Hearts victory in a tousy Scottish Premier League encounter at Pittodrie.

Howard's saves prevented Calum Elliot and Suso giving Hearts a half-time lead they would have just about deserved.

But, having suffered a head knock just before the break, Howard was beaten by a Kyle header a minute into the second half from an Elliot cross.

The keeper was immediately replaced, but the Dons could not recover.

It means that Mark McGhee's side have taken just one point from their last six league matches.

Aberdeen had been able to add some additional firepower to their line-up, including Chris Maguire, free from suspension and fresh from a goal from the halfway line for Scotland Under-21s that has become a hit on the internet.

Andrius Velicka, the former Hearts striker who has been injured since joining on loan from Rangers, made a surprise first appearance, while Sone Aluko was back from his injury troubles along with former Tynecastle midfielder Paul Hartley.

But the first half was more blood and thunder than goalmouth fireworks with a series of bookings, flailing elbows, tousy challenges and moments of petulance overshadowing any attempts at creativity by last season's two most indisciplined sides in the SPL.

Hearts midfielders Rudi Skacel and Suso both left the field for treatment to bloodied head wounds, while the latter was lucky not to find himself in referee Mike Tumilty's book after stupidly slapping Aberdeen defender Rory McArdle on the back of the head as he left the field for treatment.

Kyle was similarly fortunate after the Hearts striker barged into Zander Diamond behind Tumilty's back after complaining that the Dons defender had over-reacted to a high challenge.

There were, however, moments in a game featuring seven yellow cards that threatened to batter the back of the net - and most of those came from Hearts.

Howard kept his side level with fine goal-line blocks to deny close-range efforts from Elliot and Suso, who had returned to the midfield along with Ruben Palazuelos.

Hearts themselves had sprung a surprise with the inclusion in defence of Velicka's Lithuania team-mate, Marius Zaliukas, who has been sidelined because of a contractual dispute.

The defender was rarely troubled in the first half, although Maguire threatened with a low drive shortly before the break that failed to have the accuracy from the edge of the box that the striker managed from halfway against Iceland on Monday.

Howard received treatment on the stroke of half-time after falling awkwardly under pressure from Kyle and a couple of his own defenders.

The goalkeeper was beaten moments into the second half when an Elliot cross found Kyle unmarked eight yards out and, with the goalkeeper rooted to the line, the Hearts striker's diving header broke the deadlock.

McGhee immediately replaced the obviously troubled Howard with Jamie Langfield and hauled off the ineffectual Velicka for Darren Mackie.

Langfield himself recovered after picking up a shoulder injury saving low at the feet of Skacel, but it was Hearts who were reeling as Aberdeen started to exert some pressure.

Even so, Hearts continued to create the better chances on the break.

It needed a block by Andrew Considine to prevent Kyle finding the net from 10 yards after the striker was found by a low ball from Suso after the weaving winger tricked his way into the box past four defenders.

Suso was injured in that foray and his replacement, Stephen Elliott, immediately headed over when found unmarked by a cross and Ryan Jack headed a Kyle header off the line before the end.

Taken from the BBC